As would be expected, despite it being so easy to author broad, instant narratives that naturally tilt negative, J.J. McCarthy has had ups and downs over his first four NFL starts.
The priority for the Minnesota Vikings over the rest of this season, independent of wins and losses, is to do whatever it takes to get their young quarterback on a better track.
Overall, with the offensive line the healthiest it has been all season, minus center Ryan Kelly and all the key skill position pieces who were projected to be around him available, McCarthy is in a good situation.
During training camp, with Justin Jefferson sidelined for much of it, McCarthy and Jordan Addison clearly built some chemistry.
Of course that chemistry coming to fruition during games was delayed by Addison's three-game suspension to start the season, and by the time he was available, McCarthy was sidelined by an ankle injury.
Over the two games since McCarthy returned to action, Addison has been targeted 15 times (a 22.3 percent target share). In Week 10 against the Baltimore Ravens, production (three catches for 35 yards) and efficiency (11 targets) were far apart.
Jordan Addison has a clear matchup advantage the Minnesota Vikings must exploit in Week 11
While Justin Jefferson naturally commands targets as the Vikings' WR1, Addison is not that far behind him in the pecking order. If the Chicago Bears try to tilt coverage Jefferson's way in Week 11, they will do so at their own peril.
In a look at wide-receiver/cornerback matchups to target in Week 11, with a fantasy football tilt, Nic Bodiford of Pro Football Focus outlined the advantage Addison has against the Bears' top cornerback this Sunday, Tyrique Stevenson.
"Minnesota Vikings No. 2 wide receiver Jordan Addison gets a bounce-back matchup against the NFL’s worst coverage defender, Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Addison is a high-upside WR3.
His 66.3 PFF offense grade ties for 41st among 63 NFL wide receivers with at least 335 offensive snaps. Stevenson’s 58.7 PFF defense grade ties for 36th among 65 NFL cornerbacks with at least 380 defensive snaps."
But as Bodiford also outlined, Stevenson is not the only Bears' cornerback Addison has a matchup advantage against.
"Addison (36.0 percent wide-left rate) will also run routes against Bears No. 2 perimeter cornerback Nahshon Wright, whose 1.26 yards allowed per coverage snap ties for 51st among 65 NFL cornerbacks with at least 225 coverage snaps. He grades out as the 50th-best player (55.8 PFF coverage grade)."
If McCarthy can be more consistent with his accuracy against a vulnerable Bears' secondary, Bodiford also noted Addison's level of "high value" targets over the last two games.
"Among 42 NFL wide receivers with at least 10 targets in Weeks 9-10, Addison’s 30.0% deep-target rate ties for sixth. Among 112 NFL skill position players to log at least a 50.0% snap rate, his 40.0% red zone target rate ties for 14th."
So Addison's fantasy managers should not hesitate to find a place for him in their lineups this week. More specifically, the Vikings have a matchup advantage they must exploit in the overall effort to set McCarthy up for success in his fifth career start.